


can you tell (my heart beats faster when you speak)

by theflyjar



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Getting Together, Heartbeats, Light Angst, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Minor Kim Jongin | Kai/Oh Sehun, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-24
Updated: 2018-07-24
Packaged: 2019-06-15 13:32:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15414048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theflyjar/pseuds/theflyjar
Summary: Lu Han calls it bullshit, but he has the power to, as an alpha. Yifan thinks it’s just the way things go for omegas. It’s how things have gone in his family for generations.It’s Yixing who calls it archaic, and Yifan thinks he’s closer to the truth.





	can you tell (my heart beats faster when you speak)

**Author's Note:**

> this is unedited
> 
> the title is from [oversized by basement.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWsXGW8bXVc)

Even if Sehun is four years younger than Yifan, he’s still the best cover for when Yifan wants to go out with his friends without his parents worrying. It’s ridiculous, at least in Yifan’s mind, that he’s twenty-five and still living under the thumb of his parents. All of his other friends aren’t still sheltered by their parents like Yifan is, although, none of Yifan’s friends are omegas. Yifan’s friendship group consists of mainly alphas with a couple of betas peppered through, which is why Yifan needs Sehun.

Being Yifan’s cousin _and_ an alpha makes going out with Sehun easy. His parents see Sehun as a chaperone, even though Sehun drops Yifan off with his friends then heads out to see his boyfriend, one that lives out in the suburbs on the other side of the city. They came up with the agreement when Sehun was sixteen and Yifan twenty, right at the point where the want for independence from their parents set into their bones. They’re grateful for what they’ve done for each other, especially since Sehun seems to be plucking up the courage to tell his parents he’s got himself an omega boyfriend that he met at a dance competition a few years ago. And Yifan’s just happy to see his friends.

Yifan’s the only one without a fulltime job, and the part-time one he does have is in a sleepy bookstore only older people ever seem to enter. His parents have made it clear that Yifan can’t even think about having a career until he’s mated and his mate gives him permission. Lu Han calls it bullshit, but he has the power to, as an alpha. Yifan thinks it’s just the way things go for omegas. It’s how things have gone in his family for generations.

It’s Yixing who calls it archaic, and Yifan thinks he’s closer to the truth.

It’s old-fashioned but it’s tradition; it’s the way things have always been for the Wu-slash-Oh family. The old ‘rules’ are why Sehun’s shy about introducing his boyfriend, Jongin. Jongin’s ambitious and driven and is already well into his career as a professional dancer. He didn’t wait for permission from his alpha - or beta - mate. Read: he doesn’t meet the omega requirements that Sehun and Yifan’s family has.

Out of everyone who understands what Yifan and Sehun are subject to, it’s Yixing. He’s a Zhang and the Zhangs are _always_ alphas. They only marry alphas, they only produce alphas, they only have interest in alphas. There’s no space for betas or omegas in the Zhang family tree.

And that’s the reason why Yifan’s never told Yixing about the dumb crush he’s had on him since he was thirteen. There have been a few times when Yifan’s been close to letting the words slip from his mouth. There have been many more time when Yifan’s thought of just not using words at all, wanting to let his mouth cover Yixing’s when Yixing’s doing that ridiculously blinding smile he does when Yifan makes him laugh.

Yixing himself is the reason why Yifan’s blind dates, and the ridiculous family meetings over his relationship status, have all gone disastrously. Yifan doesn’t know how to tell everyone that he’s in love with his best friend without risking ruining years of tradition between two families and, more importantly, the friendship he’s built with Yixing.

Yifan knows his parents will end up being the ones to pick Yifan’s mate from a line-up of alphas they approve of, leaving him with little say in the matter. Their patience is wearing thin on Yifan’s consistent rejections of their alphas. They’re simply not what he wants. And, often enough, he’s not what they want either.

But, that’s why Yifan’s so grateful to Sehun. He’s the one that practically sneaks Yifan out to see his friends (to see Yixing). Yifan thinks his heart would rupture (can it even do that? Yifan isn’t sure) if he didn’t get to see his friends _(Yixing)_ at least once a month.

However, Yifan’s already had his monthly meet-up with his friends, when he knows he needs Yixing. He’s come out to a bar with Sehun and Jongin to discuss how they should go about telling the Wu-slash-Oh family that Sehun’s found the person he wants to be his mate. Yifas is aware that he should have cancelled. His heat has always been erratic and never followed a simple pattern. His mother says it’s because he’s not found an alpha to balance him out yet - Yifan really wishes he was Lu Han so he could say that, that _is_ bullshit.

Still, Yifan could sense his heat coming as he was getting ready to head out to the bar. He’s been ignoring it, hoping that it would hit a couple hours after he gets home. That’s a terrible idea and he knows it. Not only is it drawing attention to him that he does not want, it’s driving jealousy into his heart because Sehun and Jongin are _right there_ and they’re so in love, and they’re everything Yifan wishes he and Yixing were.

His heat and his craving to have Yixing close are what has Yifan hiding away in a locked bathroom stall with his phone to his ear. He dials Yixing three times, the first two just ringing through and the third one being the one Yixing actually picks up.

The words that tumble out of Yifan’s mouth surely make no sense. Still, Yixing, in the way he always does, knows exactly what Yifan’s trying to say. He’s asking for an address or the name of the bar and Yifan can hardly remember either, so he sends Yixing his location using _WeChat_ and his heart settles when he hears Yixing say:

“I’ll be there in twenty minutes, okay? Don’t move. I’ll be there, I promise.”

Yifan watches the minutes tick by on his phone screen and finds himself crying at around the ten minute mark because he’s so frayed by everything. Half of him wishes he could pass straight through the emotional side of things and slip straight into the aroused part. Because then he wouldn’t be crying in a bar bathroom on his own about how fucked his heart is.

Yixing only takes thirteen minutes to get there and Yifan can smell him long before the alpha bursts into the omega bathroom and knocks on the cubicle door, telling him softly, “Ge, it’s me.”

Those words do everything to soothe Yifan’s heart and break it further. They don’t stop Yifan from unlocking the door and springing straight onto Yixing, into his already waiting arms. Yifan’s still crying and they both know it’s probably only going to get worse the longer they stay there.

So, Yifan’s fully compliant when Yixing says, “Let’s get you home.”

He should panic, though, because if Yixing means ‘home’ to be where Yifan lives with his parents, there would be uproar over Yifan being around an unmated, unrelated alpha at the beginning of his heat. But, Yixing has his car and he’s holding Yifan’s hand as they drive through the streets.

Yifan’s emotions have truly managed to get the best of him, as he can’t even pay attention to where they’re going with his eyes constantly stinging with tears and his nose beginning to run. It feels ridiculous to be so emotionally charged and for it to all try and escape at once, and having Yixing there is what helps. Yifan’s no good with smells and never knows what the notes that make up people’s scents are, so all he can ever describe Yixing’s scent as is calm. He smells like calm personified and that’s what Yifan attempts to focus on.

What Yixing meant by ‘home’ was the apartment Yixing shares with Lu Han, Minseok, and Chanyeol. Yifan should dread it, going into a space with so many alphas, but it’s more of a relief than being taken to his parents’ house.

All of the alphas are sat around in the lounge when Yixing manages to get Yifan into the apartment, they each scramble to help Yixing with guiding Yifan towards Yixing’s room and laying him down on the bed. Yifan’s whole body relaxes as soon as he hits the mattress and buries his head in Yixing’s pillow. He only melts completely when he feels the bed dip with the collective weight of all four of his friends. Yixing spoons him from behind, Chanyeol tangles up with Yifan from the front, and Minseok and Lu Han nestle themselves almost completely on top of Yifan.

It’s everything Yifan didn’t know he needs. He feels so overwhelmingly loved that all of the angst and upset in his body rolls away with each breath he takes, feeling small and encapsulated by four of the people who adore him most in the world.

They all fall asleep like that, Lu Han’s fingers scratching pleasantly at Yifan’s scalp; Chanyeol’s chin tucked up on top of Yifan’s head; Minseok’s small feet rubbing on Yifan’s calves; Yixing’s nose and mouth pressed to Yifan’s neck, his arms wrapped around Yifan’s waist and legs over his and Chanyeol’s thighs.

 

♡♡♡

 

When Yifan wakes, it’s just him and Yixing in the room, with Yixing taking the position that Chanyeol had during the night. Yifan’s in some of Chanyeol’s clothes, too, in one of the ridiculously large hoodies Chanyeol wears. It smells like Yixing, however, as if he’s been wearing Chanyeol’s clothes around their apartment. Yixing himself is still fully dressed in what Yifan can easily identify as his work clothes. They’re wrinkled as Yixing sleeps, meaning he came straight from work just to fetch Yifan from the bar. 

All the heartache that was clenched up in Yifan’s chest is gone, as if it didn’t exist at all. He feels his own heart beating with the palm of his hand pressed against his sternum, then he puts it in the same place on Yixing’s chest, too. Yixing’s heartbeat is slower than his own, though, he guesses that’s because Yixing’s asleep and Yifan’s the one that’s staring at the person he’s in love with.

He leaves his hand there until Yixing’s eyes flicker awake, his heart rate increasing suddenly when he opens his eyes and sees Yifan.

“Feeling better?” Yixing’s voice is gravelly and sleep-laden, needing to lick his lips a few times over before he turns his head to the side to yawn. Yifan withdraws his hand from Yixing’s chest and nods his head. “That’s good. You were really upset last night, and I was so worried when you called me and said you were in heat in a bar.”

“I guess it seemed worse than it actually was,” Yifan mumbles as he comes to realise that.

He expects Yixing to agree with him, that the situation wasn’t as bad as Yifan had made out on the phone. Instead, Yixing rests his head back on the pillow so he’s looking at Yifan again, lifting one of his arms to hook over Yifan’s head, frowning.

“No, you didn’t. I’ve never seen you so sad before, so it was good that you called and that I could bring you here. I know how your parents stress you out.”

Yifan knows talking about his home situation will only bring back those feelings he had last night, so he avoids it. Asking, “Where’re the other guys?”

“They’ve headed out for the day, to give us some time alone. But, they’ll be back later for another cuddling session to help you sleep.” Yixing pauses for a while before the tips of his ears turn a little pink, “Unless, you’re, you know, in the next stage of your heat.”

The flush that’s on Yixing’s ears bleeds down onto his cheeks, all the way to where his skin disappears beneath the collar of his shirt. Yifan finds his own face growing warm at Yixing’s insinuation, Yifan’s been having heats since he was fifteen, for ten years, and he still gets embarrassed talking about them with anyone, let alone Yixing.

They let the conversation die there, hoping their embarrassment would follow swiftly behind it, and when it does, Yifan feels himself start to laugh as he looks into Yixing’s eyes. Yixing’s quick to follow him, doing the dorky series of _ha_ ’s that Yifan adores. When that comes to a quiet close, Yixing lays on his back and pats his chest. Yifan knows it’s an invitation to rest his head there and listen to Yixing’s heartbeat.

Each omega has something they like in an alpha, some little quirk that helps to allay the fears put forth by their status. Yixing was the first person to know that Yifan’s is heartbeats. It’s why he didn’t freak out at the touch of Yifan’s palm on his sternum when he woke and it’s why Yixing always cuddles close.

Yifan adores nothing more than listening to the pounding in Yixing’s chest because Yixing’s is truly the one that works best to ease all of his worries. He’s listened to countless heartbeats in his life and none bring him total peace like Yixing’s does.

Drifting off again, Yifan feels the gentle push of Yixing’s lips on the crown of his head, so he tightens his arms around Yixing a small bit.

 

♡♡♡

 

Yet, when he wakes, he’s alone.

He can sense, and tangibly feel, why that is.

Sweat dribbles down Yifan’s temples and his fingers are buried deep in the duvet he’s clearly kicked off, but is still clenching. He holds himself back from calling for Yixing. When he was younger, he’d called for his parents during his heat because he was confused, not fully aware of what was happening to him. Back when he’d wanted the comforting touch of his other mother’s fingers in his hair and the protective aura of his mother.

Calling for Yixing, however, isn’t a cry for comfort. It’s both an offer and a plead to the one that Yifan recognises as being _his_ alpha.

He can sense Yixing so keenly, along with Chanyeol, outside of the room. Chanyeol’s closest, as if he’s stood in front of the door, and that same protective sense Yifan used to get from his alpha mother radiates off the youngest alpha. Through the heat and the rapidly climbing arousal, Yifan manages to smile at the idea of Chanyeol not even being tempted by Yifan’s heat, it triggers something within Chanyeol that wants to keep Yifan safe, rather than be a danger himself.

“Chanyeol,” Yifan whines, feeling himself already becoming close to tears again. However, this time, it’s out of _need_ rather than emotion.

The door opens and Chanyeol’s head pops through the hole its made, followed by the rest of his body. He closes the door soundly behind him, keeping his hand on the handle. At the absence of the alpha at his door, Yixing’s scent draws nearer but doesn’t come into the room. Chanyeol looks entirely unaffected as he smells, without his nostrils flaring and the thick scent of alpha arousal.

Yifan’s grateful when Chanyeol asks him, “Do you need anything?” Because, Yifan doesn’t know what to say.

He nods his head, telling the alpha, “Water.” Even if, what he really wants to ask for is _Yixing._ He wants the alpha his heart is set on to take care of him and keep him sated, happy, and delighted through his heat. Again, he resists saying it.

Instead, he watches Chanyeol leave. Both of the alphas seem to go to the kitchen where the faucet is turned on. Yifan can barely remember what cold water feels like anymore, with heat so rampant in his body and the warmth of slick that’s making its way down Yifan’s thighs, soaking into Yixing’s bedding.

When both alphas appear at the door again, Yifan can hear them bickering about something and it tenses something in Yifan’s heart. Chanyeol’s protectiveness flares and there’s something restless and spicy in Yixing’s calm scent, it stimulates so much within Yifan. He wants to be protected by an alpha, like his mother used to protect him, but he wants this unfamiliar side of Yixing more. He wants to welcome Yixing as his mate, more than anything.

“Yixing,” he whimpers, his fingers loosening on the bedding and lips trembling. “Yixing, please.”

The alphas stop their squabbling and the door opens again. And, to Yifan’s entire body’s delight, Yixing’s the one who comes in through the door, holding a cup of water. Yixing looks like the complete opposite of Chanyeol. If there’s something that Yifan’s heat has done, it’s affected Yixing in every way he would want it to. Yixing’s whole body appears to be trembling as he approaches Yifan and his chest is barely moving, indicating that he’s trying to hold his breath for as long as he can.

Without much decorum, Yifan scrambles to the edge of the bed and leans towards Yixing and press his head into Yixing’s stomach. He can smell - and see - how aroused Yixing is. It makes holding back even harder for Yifan as yet more fluid ebbs down between his legs and he’s completely hard under the hoody he has on.

Yixing’s fingers come to Yifan’s jaw, coaxing him away from Yixing’s stomach and towards the glass of water he has in his hand. He’s careful not to touch Yifan’s skin directly. Yifan puts the rim of the glass between his lips and gulps it down when Yixing tilts it up gently. The water doesn’t do much to douse the fire rippling through Yifan’s body but it takes a tiny part of the edge off. When he wants more, he lifts his own hand up to the glass and his fingers skim over Yixing’s for a split second. A wave of shock sears through Yifan’s body from the meagre touch.

It’s the cause of - and Yifan’s not entirely sure how it happened - Yixing’s teeth being pressed against the junction of Yifan’s neck. He’s not pinned to the bed, although, Yixing’s over him, his nose puffing air hotter than Yifan’s skin towards Yifan’s sweat soaked hairline. His fingers fumble to reach up to bury themselves in Yixing’s hair and push his head down, hoping Yixing will bite him, not simply hold his skin between his teeth.

“Please,” Yifan begs, tears escaping to the lashes around his eyes. “Yixing, please.”

Yixing’s teeth press harder for a split second before he’s jolting away, out of Yifan’s hold and stumbling back from the bed. Yifan lets out a pained cry of rejection, a sob hiccupping up through his throat from his chest.

“You don’t know how much I want to,” Yixing croaks. “But, _I can’t.”_

And Yifan, even through his heat, gets it. He really does.

That does not make it easier for him to handle when Yixing leaves the room, then the apartment. Chanyeol comes in after, sitting on the edge of Yixing’s bed to comfort Yifan as best as he possibly can. Though, they both know it’s futile.

Chanyeol, too, seems to know what’s going on as he murmurs, “He really does love you, believe me,” into Yifan’s hair.

Yifan’s not sure how long it takes for the sobbing to subside. By the time that it has, Chanyeol’s been replaced by both Minseok and Lu Han. They’re either side of Yifan, bracketing him, despite all the heat and sweat coming from his body.

“Tell us when you need to be alone,” Minseok whispers when he kisses Yifan’s temple. “We’ll leave, then.”

Yifan doesn’t say anything much for a while until he requests to be alone for the rest of the night, knowing that he _still_ needs to do something about his arousal to stop his heat from becoming too painful.

 

♡♡♡

 

It’s the worst night of all the heats he’s ever had before, with his emotions piling up inside him as he tries his hardest to sate the relentless _need_ within him. The next day isn’t much better either, but the arousal banishes all other thoughts from his head, it simply hurts because he still wants Yixing. The idea of Yixing being _his_ alpha is what lingers in his head, it’s what his instincts tell him is right and true.

Nothing’s better until the third night, when he wakes up in the earliest hours of the morning, to the feeling of fingers across his cheeks. He’s not even fully awake before he realises that it’s Yixing, inundating him with his calm scent and the cool feel of his skin.

“Yixing,” he grumbles, groggy from the lack of sleep and the sheer amount of exhaustion in his body. His fingers quiver as they reach up for Yixing, who’s crouched down beside the mattress.

The lights aren’t on. Yixing’s breathing is even deeper than Yifan’s, like he’s smelling the scent of Yifan in the air, and Yifan doesn’t argue when Yixing climbs up onto the bed. There’s not even a question in Yifan’s mind as his eyelids flutter shut when Yixing leans in close, until Yixing’s hot breath tingles against Yifan’s lips. Fingers threading themselves in Yixing’s hair, Yifan closes the distance between them and encourages Yixing to kiss him back. Which he does.

“Is it okay that I’m here?” Yixing mutters questioningly between kisses he leaves on Yifan’s lips. “After I lost control like that.”

Yifan nods his head avidly, relinquishing his grip on Yixing’s hair to scrabble around on Yixing’s clothed back to bring him closer. His instincts imbue his body with another rush of lust, leaving him with only the wish to give himself wholly over to the one he’s sure he wants as his alpha. Yixing’s hands feel like heaven when they touch over Yifan’s bare chest, so he pushes himself into the contact in a silent plead for more.

“Ge, I can’t… We can’t…” Yixing whispers with a small recoil of his lips from Yifan’s. Yifan’s heart takes a small tumble in his chest until Yixing cups his cheek. “You surely have to know how much you mean to me, how addictive you are for me to be around. It’s not as simple as that, though. I’m not deserting you, I’m not breaking your heart, I’m hoping that we can wait for a little bit.”

Yifan wishes he can follow all the words Yixing’s saying. He can’t help that his mind doesn’t let him, it just zones out as his eyes adjust to the darkness, allowing him to see Yixing. He watches Yixing’s mouth move and his arousal spikes so high that he’s hard within seconds, his slick ebbing out onto the bedsheets under his naked body.

The way Yixing’s fingers toy with his chest drive him close to crazy, with the gentle scratch of his nails and the soft skimming of his skin against Yifan’s. It’s so mesmerising that Yifan thinks Yixing’s the absurd one, for thinking that Yifan can remain coherent enough to have an adult conversation about whatever is going to happen between them. Yifan can barely open his mouth to call Yixing’s name again without another rush of unbearable heat jolting through his body.

Yixing’s eyes widening is all the evidence Yifan needs to know that Yixing’s just realised how deep Yifan is in the throes of his heat. It’s something that Yifan would have laughed at, was he not using every ounce of his self control to not frot against Yixing’s leg.

“I shouldn’t be here,” Yixing groans as he leans forward to draw in the scent at Yifan’s neck. He even licks it a few times, Yifan’s certain of that. What Yifan’s more unsure of is the feeling of teeth against the flesh, like they’re testing out a bite before taking one.

Were he someone more vocal, Yifan would beg to have Yixing’s mark on him, but it’s so difficult to get any words out at all when Yixing’s on top of him, tasting his neck any way that he can.

Yifan’s whole body jumps, his heart lurching in fright, when he hears, _“Yixing!”_

Minseok’s voice doesn’t startle Yixing away from Yifan, instead he moves them until Yifan’s resting on top of him. Yixing holds Yifan’s head to his chest and clutches him tightly, as if Minseok will try to take Yifan away from him. Even if Yifan’s not afraid of Minseok, nor fearful of what may happen, his heart thumps at a panicked pace. He doesn’t want Yixing to leave his side again.

When Yifan looks up to see Minseok in the doorway, Lu Han and Chanyeol appear behind him, flanking him. It’s Lu Han who steps forward, doing so slowly and carefully.

“No one is trying to take him away from you,” is the first thing that comes from his mouth. Yifan thinks he’s talking to him, as he can’t see where Lu Han’s looking at until Chanyeol flicks the light switch. It’s then that Yifan realises he’s speaking directly to Yixing.

“You need to think, Yixing,” Minseok chimes in barely a beat after. “We’ve talked about this.”

“I don’t want to let him go,” Yixing sighs into Yifan’s hair, his weight sagging almost tiredly against Yifan, as if he’s tired of something and he’s finally freeing himself from it.

“It’s not that easy.” Chanyeol chances walking up next to Yixing and stroking through both Yifan and Yixing’s hair. “Come on, it’s not fair on yourself and Yifan to do this now. Just wait a day or two, until Yifan’s head’s a little clearer.”

Yixing lets out a petulant sound, one that resounds around the room like a child whose favourite cuddly toy has been taken away by their parents. Yifan latches onto Yixing, his arms coming up to circle around Yixing’s waist, uncaring of how much heat is boiling up between them. Yifan’s omega brain isn’t even concerned about his friends seeing him naked, it’s only concerned about keeping Yixing as close as he can be.

“I want Yixing.” Yifan’s bottom lip quivers as he speaks, nails digging into the back of Yixing’s shirt. “Please.”

“We know you do.” Minseok comes over to soothe. “But, you need to talk things through first. You’re in heat and you know your parents won’t be happy if you spend your heat with someone who isn’t your mate.”

Yifan moves his head when Yixing prompts him to look up, he smiles a little when he sees how gentle Yixing’s expression is as he gazes down. Yixing leans in an Yifan tilts himself up to make it easier to kiss him, Yixing reaches around his back and brings Yifan’s right hand around to lay over his chest, to feel how rapidly his heart beats as their lips gently meet. It’s like that, that the excruciating heat in Yifan’s body subsides for a moment or two, giving way to the melting of all the tension within him.

“I’ll be in Lu Han-ge’s room, okay? I won’t be far away, so just call my name when you need me, okay?” Yixing’s voice rumbles against Yifan’s lips, leaving a few more kisses there before he moves Yifan to lay down on the mattress again. He moves away from the edge of the bed and crouches down beside Yifan again, nosing up Yifan’s neck and leaving a single - yet, weak - bite mark on Yifan’s neck.

When Yixing moves away, Chanyeol hooks an arm around his shoulder to guide him out of the room, should he change his mind and turn back to Yifan.

Whilst it doesn’t feel like it did when Yixing walked out before, Yifan’s simply more confused than ever. His body _craves_ to have someone touch it and make him feel better during his heat, but the one person he wants, keeps walking away from him when he truly _needs_ him. Lu Han and Minseok make sure Yifan drinks and eats before they leave the room again.

It’s the last night of his heat and it’s another spent alone. Still, It’s easier to focus on the lust within his body with Yixing’s scent so close, especially when he can smell Yixing coming close to the bedroom door every so often. Again, he wants to call out Yixing’s name but he doesn’t know what Yixing meant when he said to call for him when he was needed. Yifan doesn’t know what kind of need he meant, so he doesn’t ask for Yixing at all.

 

♡♡♡

 

When Yifan wakes up, though, he’s surrounded by alphas. This time, Chanyeol’s spooning him and Yixing’s in front of him, with Lu Han and Minseok resuming their positions on top of him again. It’s clear Yifan ended his heat whilst he was asleep and that the change in his scent prompted yet another cuddly pile-on.

One difference is that when Yixing’s eyes open, the first thing he does is move even closer to Yifan and kiss him. It’s nothing fiery or fast paced, it’s slow and drawn out, and Yixing takes a few minutes to part his lips - with Yifan following immediately after - for their tongues to meet in gentle drags against one another. They only stop when Lu Han flicks their temples, asking for them to be less gross.

Yifan obliges and shuffles under Chanyeol’s long, heavy limbs to put his head to Yixing’s chest and listen to his heart.

They spend the rest of the day like that, with Yifan under the pile of alphas who cuddle him through the post-heat exhaustion, making sure to take gentle care of him and listen to him whenever he cries. Sehun comes later on and joins in, being both babied by the older alphas and ensuring that his omega cousin is as content as he can be.

When Monday comes and everyone has to head to work, Yixing’s the only one who doesn’t leave Yifan alone in the apartment. He calls in sick and spends his time fussing over Yifan, doing everything for the omega that he really doesn’t have to. Still, Yifan likes it. So, he lets it continue until Yixing gets back into the bed with him, both of them grinning widely.

“I don’t want an alpha,” Yixing blurts out randomly, “I want you.”

Even though Yifan’s already worked it out, hearing the words so bluntly from Yixing (whose cheeks are red with shyness), it’s a whole other feeling. It flutters in his chest before melting down into his stomach in a small pool of warmth.

“I know.” Yifan kisses the tip of Yixing’s nose. “I want you, too.”

“I told my parents that they should stop looking for alphas to pair me up with…” Yixing glances to the side for a few moments, nervousness ebbing into his expression as his eyebrows furrow and lip comes up between his teeth. “I want to be with you. I think I always have and I get this feeling like we _need_ to be together. I don’t mind if you don’t want to date me or be my mate, but I want to be around you. If you’d continue to let me.”

If anyone asks how Yifan reacts to those words, he knows he’ll tell them that the tears in his eyes were from the tiredness he felt, not the raw emotion surging through his body. He’s known since he was thirteen that the person he wants is Yixing. That was even before either of them knew that they were an alpha and an omega. It’s like Yifan’s heart chose Yixing from the moment Yixing fell up the stairs, into Yifan, when he was running after Lu Han at school.

“But, I’m not an alpha and your pare-”

“They love me, they’ll come around to the idea,” Yixing assures him, like going against family is the easiest thing in the world for Yixing. They both know it’s not that simple.

That’s when it dawns on Yifan, that Yixing thinks living without him would be harder than living without his own family’s blessing. And, in a moment, he realises that it's the same for him. He'd rather live with awkward family dinners and small spats than not have Yixing. He's certain, especially when he listens to the way Yixing's heart beats, that breaking tradition could possibly be worth it.


End file.
